Study Shows Moderate Alcohol Consumption Enhances Social Bonding

The next time someone suggests going out for a drink, you may want to take them up on their offer because it could improve your friendship. A new study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh reveals moderate alcohol consumption in a social setting can increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions while enhancing bonding among peers.

According to researchers, previous alcohol studies tested the impact of alcohol on emotions of social drinkers while drinking in isolation. Michael Sayette, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the study, said the participants of this study had their individual and group interactions examined using several techniques.

“We used a variety of measures that had not been brought into this literature before, including facial expression measures, and we then looked at how these people interacted when they were intoxicated as opposed to when they were sober,” Sayette said.

A sample of new research exploring memory recall as an emotion regulation strategy for depression, the impact of alcohol on couples’ interactions, and cognitive profiling of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD… More